Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026
Cell Block Preparation from Cytology Specimen with Predominance of Individually Scattered Cells
Published on: July 21, 2009
High-quality cell block preparation from scraping of conventional cytology slide: a technical report on a modified
Y I Choi1, M Jakhongir, S J Choi
1Inha University Hospital, Department of Pathology, 27, Inhang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon, 22332, Rep. of Korea. 204058@inha.ac.kr.
Insights
A new cytoscrape cell block (CCB) technique improves immunocytochemistry (ICC) on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) samples. This method concentrates diagnostic material, enhancing diagnostic confidence when only FNAC slides are available.
Area of Science:
- Cytopathology
- Histopathology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Immunocytochemistry (ICC) on formalin-fixed paraffin embedded cell blocks is crucial for diagnosing fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) samples.
- Conventional cell block quality can be suboptimal for ICC due to inadequate cellularity and uneven material distribution.
- A modified agarose-based cytoscrape cell block (CCB) technique is presented for preparing cell blocks from FNAC slides.
Observation:
- The modified CCB technique involves scraping cytological material from FNAC slides.
- Material is pelleted, pre-embedded in low-gelling agarose, re-embedded in conventional agarose, and processed into a paraffin block.
- This method harvests the entire cytological sample, preventing material loss.
Findings:
- ICC quality on CCB sections is comparable to immunohistochemical stains on histological sections.
- The CCB technique effectively concentrates and focuses minute cytological material.
- The entire scraped material is retained on the CCB section's viewing area.
Implications:
- This technique enhances diagnostic confidence in FNAC, particularly when only cytology slides are available.
- The CCB method offers a reliable approach for preparing cell blocks from limited FNAC samples.
- Improved ICC quality from CCBs can lead to more accurate differential diagnoses.
Background:
Immunocytochemistry (ICC) on formalin-fixed paraffin embedded cell blocks is an ancillary tool commonly recruited for differential diagnoses of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) samples. However, the quality of conventional cell blocks in terms of adequate cellularity and evenness of distribution of cytologic material is not always satisfactory for ICC. We introduce a modified agarose-based cytoscrape cell block (CCB) technique that can be effectively used for the preparation of cell blocks from scrapings of conventional FNAC slides.
Methods:
A decoverslipped FNAC slide was mounted with a small amount of water. The cytological material was scraped off the slide into a tissue mold by scraping with a cell scraper. The cytoscrape material was pelleted by centrifugation and pre-embedded in ultra-low gelling temperature agarose and then re-embedded in conventional agarose. The final agarose gel disk was processed and embedded in paraffin.
Results:
The quality of the ICC on the CCB sections was identical to that of the immunohistochemical stains on histological sections. By scrapping and harvesting the entirety of the cytological material off the cytology slide into a compact agarose cell button, we could avoid the risk of losing diagnostic material during the CCB preparation.
Conclusion:
This modified CCB technique enables concentration and focusing of minute material while maintaining the entire amount of the cytoscrape material on the viewing spot of the CCB sections. We believe this technique can be effectively used to improve the level of confidence in diagnosis of FNAC especially when the FNAC slides are the only sample available.
